Monthly Archives: February 2025

by | Monday, February 24, 2025 · 11:01 pm

A Big Dill in New Products?

Though pickles have been around for thousands of years, they are having a moment right now. Last week Cheetos dropped a limited release new flavor of its popular Flamin’ Hot snacks, Dill Pickle. The company says it was the most requested new flavor, and it follows a pickle trend that has been finding its way into many food and drink categories. Last summer, a limited edition of Spicy Dill Pickle Goldfish was launched. A few months later, Jimmy John’s joined the movement with a Picklewich, available for short time, where the sandwich’s bread was replaced with pickle slices, capitalizing on a viral trend from local sandwich shops.

Social media is an important driver of the trend, where users can share ideas for using the sour, salty, and sometimes sweet flavor of pickles in recipes of all kinds. Gen Z is known to be adventurous when it comes to food and especially trying unique combinations. Pickles have been gaining in popularity since the pandemic, when fans touted them for the fermented food’s impact on gut health and shelf-stable nature. The excitement about this bold flavor doesn’t show signs of slowing.

Are you a pickle enthusiast?

Activities:

  1. Ask students: Are you interested in pickle-flavored snacks? Other pickle-infused foods and beverages? Have them search the internet for innovative examples of the trend.
  2. Have students look up available varieties of Cheetos on its website:  https://www.cheetos.com. Which flavors are most appealing to you? How will the company determine if the Dill Pickle variety should become a permanent offering?
  3. Ask students to form small groups and create an advertisement for a pickle-flavored (or scented?) product that they think could be successful.

Sources: Hauari, Gabe, (18 Feb 2025) A big dill? Cheetos unveils Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle flavor: When you can get them, USA Today. Jolly, Anne, (16 Apr 2024) Pickles Inspire Latest Food Trend, Foodmanufacturing.com.

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by | Monday, February 17, 2025 · 7:18 am

Gen Z Spending on Valentine’s Day

Spending on Valentine’s Day is expected to top $27.5 billion this year, an all-time record. That amounts to nearly $190 per person. But the way those dollars are spent may be changing, and Gen Z’s preferences could be leading the way.

As in recent years, the most popular gift is candy, followed by flowers and cards. The largest percentage of consumers purchase gifts for significant others, though other family members, friends, coworkers, and even pets are common recipients as well. Consumers continue to stretch the definition of the holiday to celebrate different types of relationships in their lives.

This year, Gen Z is predicted to spend a few dollars more than Millennials on average for Valentine’s gifts. Though Gen Z may have fewer resources at their disposal than other generations, they are more willing than ever to spend on gift-giving, and in particular on activities with a focus on connection. Young people may feel pressure to purchase shareable experiences, especially when these may increase their social capital through posts on social media. “An evening out” is now the fourth most popular gift for the holiday, maybe partly because it’s so easy to share online.

How will you celebrate?

Activities:

  1. Ask students: Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? To whom do you give gifts? Have you ever gifted an experience?
  2. Have students look up a couple of gift guides for Valentine’s Day. NYT has a few here:  https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/gifts/valentines-day/. Which gifts are most appealing to you to give or receive? How many of the gifts are experiential?
  3. Ask students to form small groups and create a social media promotion for an experience you could purchase for someone on Valentine’s Day.

Sources: Nalepinski, Kate and Dobkin, Rachel, (06 Feb 2025) Gen Z Is Giving More Expensive Valentine’s Day Gifts Than Millennials, Newsweek. (28 Jan 2025) NRF Survey: Valentine’s Day Spending Reaches Record $27.5 Billion, National Retail Federation.

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by | Monday, February 10, 2025 · 6:17 pm

The Super Bowl’s Best Friends: Celebrities

Companies advertising during the Super Bowl this year paid a record amount to air their spots: an estimated $8 million for 30 seconds during the broadcast. But this is just what they paid to run the commercial and doesn’t include any production expenses or licensing fees. Now throw in a celebrity to share your message, and you’re likely to add several million more to your total.

And celebrities are increasingly common in Super Bowl advertising. Just fifteen years ago, only one in three ads featured a celebrity. But since 2020, about 70% of them include these recognizable faces. That trend didn’t stop this year, with ads including many celebrities designed to appeal to a huge range of consumers. Did you see Shaboozey? Martha Stewart? Ben Affleck?

And what about one of today’s biggest celebrities, Taylor Swift? Just her presence at the Super Bowl, cheering on her Kansas City Chiefs boyfriend Travis Kelce for the second straight year, is believed to have brought new interest in the NFL among a different demographic, younger and more female. It’s part of a larger trend for women viewers of the big game; they were reportedly 49% of the audience last year.

As women continue to comprise a larger part of viewership, even the choice of celebrities have changed. There are fewer ads featuring just male celebrities and instead many ads, nearing 80% in recent years, use mixed gender spots. An example this year: Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in a Hellmann’s Mayonnaise spot. It was a hit for some and a miss for others.

So why is the use of celebrities so popular in Super Bowl advertising? Popular stars are great for capturing our attention and generating positive emotions. Sometimes they give us nostalgic recollections. And often they are unifying and noncontroversial, which is very appealing to advertisers who are not looking to take many risks right now. Yet using a celebrity does not guarantee a popular ad, much less an increase in sales.

Activities:

  1. Ask students: Which celebrities did they see in ads during the Super Bowl? How many of the celebrities listed are women?
  2. Show students the ad from Nike:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Ezn5pZE7o. Who is the target market for this ad? Are these women effective for the brand?
  3. Have students visit this website to view all the ads in one place: https://www.superbowl-ads.com/category/video/2025_ads/. They might find favorites and share with the class.
  4. Show students a video critiquing the ads this year: https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/video/ads-won-2025-super-bowl-118644571.
  5. Ask students to form small groups and determine a brand and celebrity pairing they think would be successful for a Super Bowl ad.

Sources: O’Reilly, Lara and Meaney, Mackenzie, (04 Feb 2025) The Super Bowl ad recipe for politically charged times: humor, nostalgia, and a generous helping of A-list celebrities,  Business Insider. Lacques, Gabe, (06 Feb 2025) $8 million Super Bowl commercials reflect NFL’s endless growth and a Taylor Swift effect, USA Today.

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